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Thursday, February 9, 2012

[Un]Discovers: Hana Pesut

This week, I want to us this space to introduce you a very talented Canadian photographer. Her name is Hana Pesut and I am addicted to one of her projects: Switcheroo. Today, it's my pleasure to share with you my interview with her.

Hi Hana, it's great to have you on our site this week and of course, I do have some questions for you. I know you are a self taught photographer. So what was the main reason you wanted to get into this arts field?
Looking back I guess it was something that I slowly got myself more and more interested in. I mean I always loved taking photos but I never thought of it as a career. I started as most people do, taking photos of friends and documenting life and then a few years ago a friend lent me her Hasselblad and that's when I really fell in love. The photos that I was able to take with that camera changed the way that I looked at everything. All of sudden everyday objects looked more beautiful and I wanted to photograph everything.

I always feel like the objects will look different when they are captured by the camera. I still can't explain that magical feeling but yes, ever since I started taking photos with my DSLR, things look differently to me in the world. So, are you a big fan of natural light photography?
Yes I am definitely a fan of natural light and I don't like to photoshop my images too much (other than removing dust and cat hair!). I take a photo because I really like what I see and I don't want to change that, I want people to see it the same way.

I really like your natural approach on photography and this is probably why I am a fan of your works. From the website, I know you also shoot Polaroid as well. Do you prefer to shoot in this format than digital or film? If so, What is the reason?
I love polaroids but they are so expensive and sensitive depending on the temperature (it's really hard to develop them when i'm shooting outside in cold weather) but I try to take at least one on each shoot or more if I'm shooting in studio. I just love the grain and colours that you get from a polaroid. I rarely shoot digital so yes I prefer film and polaroid over digital.

I am a big fan of Polaroid and I still remembered I was so sad when the company announced to discontinue this product. I am glad Polaroid is coming back with a new model but still, I prefer film over digital print. Let's get back to your photography projects. I really like your Switcheroo series and I am just curious, how did you come up with this concept? Are you planning to continue this series?
I was camping with some friends a while ago and two of them were dressed in very different styles. One was wearing tie dye, sequin and lots of colours and the other was in black jeans and a black t-shirt so we thought it would be fun if they traded outfits and I decided to take before and after photos. From then on, I was hooked and always imagined how people would look in each others clothes. It has been an ongoing series for awhile now and I am working on making a book of them.

It will be amazing to make this series into a book and I am looking forward to see it in the future! Now, I am curious about your future. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Would you want to create a series that would impact the society?
I'm not big on the 5 year plan, I'm really just trying to see what I can do today. It would be pretty amazing to have a series that had a positive impact on society but you never know how people are going to react. I get a lot of negative comments on the Switcheroo series so it's hard to say.

I think you should just focus on your goal to finish the Switcheroo project right now and ignore the negative comments. As my friend always says, you can never win everyone's vote. I do see potential in you and I really hope you can create more amazing images in the future. Well, last but not least, if you could choose a celebrity couple to be part of your Switcheroo series, who would you choose? Why?
This is probably the most obvious but a switcheroo of Beyonce and Jay-Z would be amazing! Beyonce is always dressed very feminine and glamourous and Jay-Z very masculine, so to see them totally out of their element ie: Jay-Z in sequin booty shorts or a gown and heels would make quite the photograph.

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Now it's time for some trivia questions to know her better!

Country Side or Urban City?
live in the city and visit the country

Sea or Mountain?
sea

Orange or Red?
red

Spring or Autumn?
autumn

Popsicle or Ice Cream?
popsicle

Vancouver or Los Angeles?
vancouver

Cow or Sheep?
sheep

Portrait or Nature Photography?
portraits in nature

Mickey Mouse or Smurfs?
mickey mouse

Bike or Car?
bike in summer and car in winter

Thank you so much to Hana for letting me to feature her this week! All images are courtesy of Hana Pesut and you can visit her official website for more of her works. Also, follow her Tumblr page to see her latest works!